


We Fit Together

by meggidarling



Series: Our Daughter 'Verse [18]
Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Homophobia, Light Angst, M/M, Racism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-14
Updated: 2018-03-14
Packaged: 2019-03-31 05:51:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13968723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meggidarling/pseuds/meggidarling
Summary: Len noticed right away that something was wrong with Eliza.As soon as she came home from Girl Scouts, she stalked straight to her room ignoring Barry’s cheerful greeting and brushed Diana’s pleads to play dolls away with a quiet shake of her head.\\Eliza deals with bullies//





	We Fit Together

Len noticed right away that something was wrong with Eliza.

As soon as she came home from Girl Scouts, she stalked straight to her room ignoring Barry’s cheerful greeting and brushed Diana’s pleads to play dolls away with a quiet shake of her head. 

Barry looked a bit like a kicked puppy, hurt that his daughter had ignored him, but didn’t say anything. Instead he turned back to making the dinner he was making, humming gently to cover up his disappointment. Diana, being the resilient toddler that she was, shrugged and looked back at her coloring page. 

Len didn’t move, worried that going to comfort her now would make situations worse. (Eliza’s temper was a dangerous mix of Len’s and Mick’s. Most of the time she was able to keep her cool, but every once and a while, she burned hot, exploding at anyone around her. Diana was more like Barry, perhaps because she was still so young. It took a lot to make her mad, but God help you if you did.) He hoped that by the time Mick got home and they sat down to eat, Eliza would be ready to talk.

That clearly wasn’t the case.

Dinner was awkward. Barry, bless him, being the ball of sunshine, he was, did the best he could to keep conversation flowing, but Eliza remained silent. When she was done (even though she had just moved her peas around for ten minutes), she asked to be excused before returning to her room. 

Once she was gone, Barry had taken Diana for a bath and to get her ready for bed, leaving Mick and Len alone.

“What’s going on with Eliza?” Mick whispered as the pair cleared the table. “She usually loves to talk to Barry about their days.”

Len shrugged, taking the plates from Mick. “I’m not sure. She’s been quiet since Perrie’s mom dropped her off from Girl Scouts a few hours ago.”

“What should we do, boss?” 

Len thought for a moment. “I think we should give her some time. It’s possible she’s just tired. Plus, we know how her temper can get.”

Mick nodded. “That sounds good to me, Lenny. Whatever you think is best.” 

The rest of the night was quiet. When the trio went to check on the girls before they went to bed, Eliza was fast asleep, Bubbles resting peacefully beside her.  
~*~

Eliza was still quiet the next morning, but she seemed slightly happier. Perhaps she was faking it for their sake, but she smiled softly while Diana babbled wildly at her during breakfast and even asked Barry to run her to school, which cheered Barry up completely. 

Soon the house was quiet, as Diana had gone to daycare and both Mick and Barry had gone out. Len, having a day off, curled up with Bubbles on the couch. He was just pulling out his knitting needles to finish up a blanket for Diana when his cell phone rang.

“Hello?” He said, slightly surprised. The only people who ever called him were his family, but that wasn’t the number that appeared on the screen.

“Leonard? It’s Charlie, Perrie’s mom?” A woman’s voice replied.

“Of course, Charlie. What can I do for you?” Len responded, confused as to why the woman was calling him. Sure, Perrie and Eliza were best friends, but Charlie was closer to Barry than Len.

“Hi, sorry to call you in the middle of the day but this was the only free time I had today. So many meetings and so much paper work.” 

And that’s why she got on better with Barry, she was a babbler.

“But, right, why I called. Um, Eliza was a little off yesterday and Perrie mentioned what I think might be the reason.” 

Len sat up a little straighter. “Yes?”

Charlie cleared her throat. “Perrie mentioned that two of the other girls were teasing her about her race, specifically that she wasn’t welcome because of it. Perrie also mentioned that they’ve been teasing her for a few weeks about how none of her family looks the same, that you’re all ‘mismatched.’”

Len’s blood ran cold. This had been what he’d feared. He was hoping that what he experienced as a kid would have been gone by the time he had kids, but that clearly wasn’t the case. Not with today’s political climate.

“They also made some comments about your and you husbands sexuality, which also really got to Perrie, because she realized that they only reason they were leaving her alone is because I have a gender-neutral name. I don think they’re realized she has two mommies yet.” Charlie continued, her voice shaking a little bit.

“Oh.” Was all he was able to choke out, heart in his throat.

“I’m sorry to be the one to tell you.” Charlie said, clearly somewhat shaken up herself. “I just couldn’t imagine Eliza suffering and her fathers not knowing. My wife and I were horrified when Pez told us last night. The fact that this type of flat-out racism exists in someone so young shows just how backwards out society can be sometimes.”

“Thank you, Charlie.” Len said sincerely. “I appreciate you coming to me with this.”

“You’re welcome.” She replied. “And, Leonard?”

“Yes?” 

“If you decide to take Eliza out of this troop, let me and Dorothy know. I’m sure Perrie would rather stay with Eliza than a bunch of racist jerks.”

Len chuckled. “Sure thing, Charlie. Have a good one.” 

“You too, Leonard.” Charlie replied. “See you soon.” 

~*~  
Once the girls were settled in bed that night, Len called Barry and Mick into the living room to fill them in. 

All of them were clearly upset that their daughter was suffering, but Barry was visibly shaking. 

“My daughter is struggling with something I can never understand or have to deal with.” He whispered after a few moments of silence. “This isn’t something I can ever protect her from.”

Len shook his head. “No, it’s not. But that doesn’t make you a bad father, Scarlet. Just because the world is sometimes shitty doesn’t mean you, or me, or Mick has failed, okay?”

Barry nodded wordlessly, tucking himself further into Mick’s arms. 

Mick was fighting to stay calm. “So, what do we do from here? We can’t just let this slide.”

Len snuggled closer to the pair of them, running a soothing hand over Mick’s shoulder. “First, I think we should talk to Eliza.”

“If that doesn’t go right, we should see if Eliza wants to switch troops. She shouldn’t have to put up with that.” Barry mumbled.

Len nodded. “From what she said to me, Charlie and her wife would probably move Perrie wherever Eliza went. They know how close the girls are and she was disturbed too.”

Mick nodded. “Maybe we should have Lisa take Diana out tomorrow. She’s like you, Lenny. Eliza won’t say anything that might scare or hurt her baby sister.”

Len nodded. “I think that’s a good idea, Mickey. I’ll text Lisa.”

After a little more discussion, silence lapsed over the three men.

“Are you okay, Lenny?” Mick asked, turning him and Barry to face the man.

Len let out a shaky breath, not taking his eyes off his mug of tea. “I’m not sure. I’d always hoped that by the time I raised kids, that racism and narrow-mindedness my mom and I experienced when I was growing up; the teasing, the name calling, would be gone. I didn’t want our daughters to suffer like I did.” 

Mick reached out and grabbed one of Len’s hands, rubbing his thumb over the knuckles. “I know you did, Lenny. But it hasn’t, particularly not in this political climate-”

“Particularly not with You Know Who in the White House.” Barry grumbled from in between Len and Mick’s chest. 

“Particularly with all the bigots climbing out of their hobbit holes.” Mick amended. “So, what should we do, Lenny?”

Len thought for a minute, relishing in the outpouring of love he was receiving from his husbands. “We just have to make sure that Eliza, and soon Diana, know that it’s not about them. They’re beautiful and incredible and nothing these asshats say is about them.” 

“Outpouring of love, that we can do.” Barry agreed, pressing a kiss to Len’s cheeks. “Anything else?” 

Len nodded. “Maybe we should prepare them that the hatred might not stop, but it shouldn’t stop them. They should keep growing, keep living, keeping taking over the world.”

Mick nodded, pressing a kiss to Len’s knuckles. “Why don’t we head to bed? I’m sure it’s been a long day for all of us.” 

Len nodded and sluggishly to moved to the kitchen, depositing the mug in the sink before following Mick and Barry to the bedroom. After they checked on the girls one more time, they tumbled into bed, quickly falling asleep in each other arms. 

By morning, the trio were well rested and eager to start a conversation about racism and homophobia for the sake of their child. 

Eliza was excited to have a day with her fathers but knew something was up when Auntie Lisa picked up Diana just before lunch time. 

They were all sat at the kitchen table, eating lunch (filled with Eliza’s favorite foods), with promises to play a few board games once they were done.

Eliza regarded her fathers with her gentle, calculating eyes. Her Papa looked a little anxious, but only slightly more than usual. Her Da looked a normal, if not a little stressed, though he looked completely relaxed to the outside world. Her Daddy was another story. He looked overwhelmed, though he was doing his best to keep himself as calm possible, perhaps for Eliza sake.

“Is something wrong?” Eliza asked quietly. “You all seem very nervous, which is unusual for all three of you.”

They looked startled for a moment but quickly regain their senses. Len was the first to speak. 

Len let out a deep breath he didn’t know he was holding. “Eliza, we just wanted to talk to you about a few things that we’ve been worried about.”

“Am I in trouble?” Eliza asked, eyes widening in concern. “Because I don’t think I’ve done anything that requires a talking to.”

Barry smiled slightly, shaking his head. “No, Lightning Bug, you’re not in trouble.”

Eliza visibly relaxed once he went back to calling her a nickname. “Okay?”

“Perrie’s mom, Charlie, called me yesterday.” Len began, keeping his voice as serious as possible without being accusatory. “She said that a few of the girls were being mean to you. Do you want to talk about it at all?”

Eliza was silent for a moment before she spoke, her voice quiet. “I don’t want to make you all upset.” 

“You don’t have to worry about us, Ellie Jo. You shouldn’t have to carry anything by yourself.” Barry said in a gentle voice. “We’re you fathers, we’re here to help you and Diana succeed and grow.”

Eliza nodded slowly, before opening her mouth to speak.

It took all that Mick, Len and Barry had not to cry as she recounted what the girls had told her. The cruelty had been going on for months, but she had been able to ignore it, as it had only been snide comments. But it had morphed into cruel words whispered in her ear when they were leaving and rubbing their hands on their pant legs if they had touched her on accident. 

“They told me I didn’t belong, that I didn’t fit in because I was black.” She whispered, tears in her eyes. “And that that was only made worse by the fact that I had three dads. I could deal with it until they brought you three and Diana into it.

“They said we were all mismatched, that we didn’t fit with each other, which meant we could never fit in with the rest of the world.”

Len reached across the table and grabbed her hand, urging her to look at him. “Nothing those girls had to say have anything to do with you, Snowflake. They’re just miserable and mimicking what they’re parents say. While that doesn’t excuse what they say, it shows that you’re better than anything they say.

“And I’m not sure if people like them are ever going to go away. But who they are doesn’t change who you are.” Len finished, reaching to wipe the tears off her face.

“And, Lightning Bug, just because none of us look the same doesn’t mean we don’t fit together. We’re a family no matter what. Skin color, religion, ability. Nothing will stop us from being one, big, happy family.” Barry said, giving his daughter a large smile. 

“It’s all of us together, against all odds and obstacles.” Mick added in, an easy grin on his face.

Eliza got up and ran around the table to throw herself into her Daddy’s arms, allowing herself to be squeezed between the trio, feeling the love radiating off them.

“I love you.” She whispered, burying her face in Len’s chest, hands clutching at his shirt.

“We love you too, Snowflake.” Len whispered back. “You and Diana are our whole world and we will do anything and everything in our power to keep you safe.”

Eliza was quiet for a moment before she spoke again. “Can I maybe switch troops? I don’t want to be around those mean girls anymore.” 

Mick nodded, petting Eliza’s hair. “Whatever you want, Little Spark. Based on what Perrie’s mom said, she’ll move with you, so you won’t be alone.”

Eliza thought for a moment and then nodded, a smile spreading over her lips. “Good.” 

~*~  
After the talk with her parents, Eliza’s mood visibly improved. She was over the moon when Lisa returned with Diana a few hours later, so she begged them to take her and her sister to the park. 

And who were they to turn her down?

The park was busy, but that was to be expected on a Saturday afternoon. Barry took Diana right to the swings, pushing her gently, listening to her giggle happily.

Mick and Len fell into a conversation with Dorothy and Charlie, who happened to be at the park as well. 

Eliza, on the other hand, scurried to the jungle gym, as she saw the familiar head of fiery red hair that was her best friend Perrie. They were playing around when she saw two girls whispering off to their left.

After further inspection, Eliza recognized them as Tina and Annie, the two girls from her Girls Scout Troop that had been teasing her for weeks. She froze when she realized they weren’t talking about her, but her little sister. 

Eliza’s blood boiled when she saw that her Diana had noticed them, tears welling up in her green eyes when they snarled something particularly loud. 

“Di? What’s the matter sweetie?” She heard her Papa call, scooping up Diana and bringing her back to Mick and Len.

“We should go back to our parents, Zaza.” Perrie whispered, tugging her sleeve once she noticed the look Eliza was giving the two other girls.

“No, Pezza. I can’t. They messed with my baby sister.” Eliza said, her voice firm but gentle. “They need to know that this isn’t okay.”

Perrie looked nervous but nodded. “Okay, Eliza. Whatever you need to do.”

Eliza nodded before she squared her shoulders and walked up to Tina and Annie. “Hey!” 

The two girls turned to look at her, bored looks on their faces. “What?” 

“You need to leave my little sister alone. She’s just a little kid.” 

Tina rolled her eyes. “You don’t get to tell us what to do.” 

“Yeah!” Annie added in. “We can do whatever we want!”

Eliza took a deep breath. “You know trying to tear down other people doesn’t make you any cooler, right? It just makes everyone involved sad.” 

Tina huffed out a laugh. “Whatever, freak. Why don’t you just run back to you mismatched family and leave the rest of us alone.” 

Eliza shook her head. “You’re never going to change, but at least I know who I am and that’s all that matters. I’m awesome and so is the rest of my family, mismatched or not.” 

Tina went to speak but Eliza simply walked away, running back to Perrie, tugging her back to their parents. 

Diana was still sniffling, the adults a flurry of movement around her. When she noticed Eliza approaching she began wiggling in Barry’s arms. After a second, her placed Diana on the ground. She raced into Eliza’s arms, still sniffling.

“Those girls were so mean Eliza. Why?” She said.

“Because they wanted to hurt us, Di. They think we’re different and that they’re better than us. But that’s not true.” She whispered in her sister’s ear. “I promise I’ll do my best to protect you from now on.”

“Okay, sissy. Are people always going to be like that?” Diana asked.

Eliza shrugged. “I’m not sure, Diana. I hope not. But, no matter what people say, we’re incredible and we have a great family that loves us. That’s all that matters, okay?” 

“We’re incredible.” Diana repeated, though she stumbled over the word, a smile growing on her face. “Can you and Perrie push me on the swings now?” 

Eliza grinned, looking back at Perrie, who nodded wildly. “We’d love to, Ana. Let’s go.”

The three girls linked hands and scurried off towards the swings.

They played for a while, Charlie, Dorothy, Len, Mick and Barry watching them happily. 

After a while, they came back, cheeks windblown and faces happy.

“So, Mr. Eliza’s Papa. We need a new troop.” Perrie said, a shy smile on her face.

“I’m sure we’ll find you a great place.” Barry chuckled, a grin on his face. 

“We were think we could start a new one.” Eliza said, grabbing his hand and bouncing gently.

“Okay. Whatever you girls what. Maybe your moms want to be the troop leaders, Perrie? Charlie, Dorothy-”

“Do you want to be the troop leader, Papa? A lot of the girls at school seem to like you, so we might be able to have an even bigger troop than our last one!” She asked, batting her eyelashes at Barry, a charming smile on her face, which she no doubt learned from him. Talk about Karma. 

And who was Barry to deny that face?

“Sure, sweetheart. I’ll be your troop leader.” 

Eliza and Perrie high-fived each other, cheering happily. 

“Better you than us, pal.” Charlie laughed, elbowing Barry gently. “Me and Dorothy swore we would never be Den mothers or troop leaders.” 

“What did you get yourself into, Scarlet?” Len chuckled, pressing a kiss to his temple. 

Well, at least with Barry’s metabolism, their troop would sell the most cookies no matter what.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much to Kala for helping me so much with this one. This was her idea, she just let me run away with it. You always push me to put my best writing forward. 
> 
> I hope this story handled these difficult topics in a way that wasn't offensive. 
> 
> I apologize for any mistakes! 
> 
> More to this series is coming (with plenty of surprises), but there will probably be a larger gap of time because I have some other things planned out for spring break. 
> 
> Any guesses on who Perrie's moms are based on? First person to guess it can request a one shot!


End file.
